Apron for carrying articles



Aug. 4, 1959 M. c. LIPSCOMR APRON FOR CARRYING ARTICLES Filed May '7, 1957 INVENTOR MATILDA C. LIPSCOMB BY M M 9M ATTORNEY 2,897,505 APRON FOR CARRYING ARTICLES Matilda c. LipscombjLittle' Rock, Ark. "Application May 7, 1957, semi No. 657,660 7 Claims. (Cl. 2 -48 This invention relates to aprons which servethe usual function of'protecting clothing "from dust and spillage, but which are also useful as carrying devices.

The aprons of this invention arein'terided for use by anyone engaged in transporting a number of'variously located srnallobjects from' one place to "another; either The apron ofthis'invention is"con's'tructd to provide even distribution of' the weight load for shoulders, hips and'arn'i; and'it'leaves'thewearer with both'ha'nds' free for holding packages or'pencirafid paperus'ed iri' connection with the filling'ofo'rders.

Other objects, features'ar'idadvant'ages 'of'the invention will appear or be pointed out as the description proceeds.

In the drawing, forming a part hereof, in which "like reference characters indicate correspondingparts in all the views:

Figure 1 is a view showing the diiierent parts used to make an apron "embodying thisiiivehtion;

Figure -2 is a perspective 'view of the completed apron with the ties threaded throughcorner loop holes in the apron preparatory to putting the apron on;

' Figure} is a p erspective view-showing the manner in which the'apron-is worn -while being-used for carrying articles} and j p 7 p p Figure' 4 i s a perspective" view showing the way in which the shoulder straps extend down the-back of'the wearer and showing how easily the apron can be adjusted to the v, size of the individualwearer by pulling the apron in--at for these carrying aprons intvarioustypes of 'nianufacturing establishments,,in retail-stores, and even more specifically in the jobbing trade, where literally 'thousand's of items are "bought in large {quantities andsystematically shelvedinorder that they' inay'he bsequentlyreassembled in smaller quantities ofvarious'coinbinations for individual' retailers. v M k i In wholesale vvarehouses, thepe'rsonsfe'n'gaged in these reassembling' operationsare' called order f'fillers 'or pickers. It is their job to'fselecffrom the shelves assignedfto them thernerchandise called fo'r byfeach order and totr ansport it from its location on the shelf to the basket, box or buggy,'into'which theentire'order'is being assembled; I n"manycases they arealso required to price each item they "pick.

f On' slow days, orwhenever tir'ne'perrnitsfthese order fillers are engaged in 'shelving,whichcorisists of kee'piri'g their shelves dusted, 'in order, andrestocked with 'iner. chandise'from full cases. Thebarryingapl'on of'this invention functions just a's we'll injjshelving as it does in A; picking. Since the apron c'a'n beworn down when'the picker 'is' not shelvirig or filling'anorderfit serves as a protective cover for the front "of her 'clothes. w en she is shelving or filling orders, the'ap'ron; not-only protects her clothes, but'serves as aworkin'g tool"to"enab1e her to fortably and with less danger of droppingand breakage.

'Itis an object of this invention to provide a carrying apron, of the character indicated, which is convenient to use so that work-can be done 'moreefiiciently and with less fatigue. Another object is to provide such an apron constructed so that it is easily put on,'and with no adjustments'other than the ties which are joined in a bow knot as with conventional aprons.

Other features of the invention relate to the si n plicity V, of construction of the apron and to its attractive appearance which improves morale.

the back with the ties. p p 1 p The parts {from whichthe apron isrnade are shown-in Figure 1. These include a skirt portion ltl 'having-a rounded bottorn edge 12 and I a center j reinforcing patch 14. Thereiare threeinterniediate loops16 each of which is connected at its outerend to the edgefportion of the apron; and eachof'which is connected at its inner end with the part 'ofthe apron skirt which is covered by the reinforcing -patch-14. Thereis an end loop -1i8 locatedon one side of jthe skirt andfthls e lldj loop has both ofits ends connected to the edge portion of the apron skirt10- at regions spaced 7 along the length 'of the edge portion. Thereis asim'ilar end loop 18 on the other side of the apron i t- The skirt can be made without the reinforcing patch a 14-, but-this patch serves as "abottom under -the -pecket when the apron is beingused to c-arry' arti"cles-and it greatly increases the useful life of the apron by-improving the wearing iqi'lalities. "In order "to 'im'p'rove "the appearance of the: garment, theaprorr'preferably has semaing 20 extending around tne dgearidofeontrasting 'c'olor With'ithe' ifiate'rial fr d'm' the skirt ismade The aprdniheludes also annp ei portion ek'te'nds 'upwardiwmm fthe-"vvaist' 'andwhich preferably has: pockets? useful for 'holdingpencils and order hlanks or-ouier papers 'r'iee'cle "the workbeing done. d thftoward its lower end 's'oastoext efidientirely across 'the non; of

\ g p V tIi wea'r'er and arisen aster asEt he wearer's hips. Ihere do her job faster, with fewer steps,'more'eas1ly; moreco'm capacity. There are darts 30 at the lower part of the upper portion 22 for providing fullness over the bosom of the wearer. This prevents a direct downward pull and uncomfortable pressure against the breasts of women workers, and it distributes the downward pull toward both sides of the apron.

Shoulder straps 32, preferably of double thickness, are attached to the top of the upper portion 22; and these shoulder straps are wide enough to distribute the weight of the apron and its contents over a wide area for greater comfort. A yoke 34 is attached to the other ends of the shoulder straps 32, and this yoke holds the back ofthe shoulder straps in place, and-eliminates the need for crossing the straps in back eachtime the apron is put on. .'The apron has ties 36 connected to the yoke 34. These ties are passed through the loop holes 26 and are preferably knotted at their ends. cated by the reference characters 38, prevent the ties '36 from pulling out of the loop holes 26.

In Figure 2 the apron is shown hanging down in the position which it occupies when not being used for carrying articles. Figures 3 and 4 show the way in which the apron is used as a carrying device.

After the apron is slipped on, the ties 36 are pulled together behind the wearer and tied in a bow knot 42,

The knots, indi- 4 tageous because it locates the loops out of the way when the skirt 10 is hanging down, as shown in Figure 2. If the loops are on the front of the skirt the appearance is impaired, they are less convenient to use, and they some times catch on the edges of shelving or other projecting articles against which the skirt may brush when passing. The apron illustrated can be used by either men or women. Modifications of the illustrated construction for use by men only are made without the gathers 28 (Figure 2) and without the darts 30. This simplifies the construction somewhat, but for a skirt of equal length, the carrying capacity is somewhat decreased.

Other changes and modifications can he made, and some features can be used in different combinations, without departing from the invention as defined in the claims.

What is claimed is: l. A carrying apron including a skirt portion with a bottom edge and side edges, loops at spaced locations along the edges of the skirt and extending transversely of said edges and in position to receive an arm of the wearer of the apron to support the lower part of the skirt poras shown in Figure 4. The pull of the ties 36 on the affect the extent to which the apron wraps around the wearer; but all of the adjustment necessary is taken care of by pulling in on the ties 36.

Only four of the five loops are generally used. A right handed person inserts her left arm through one of the loops 18 and through the three intermediate loops 16 as shown in Figure 3. The other side loop 18 is not used A left handed person will insert her right am through the free loop in Figure 3, and through the three intermediate loops 16, leaving the other side loop 18 unused.

The three intermediate or bottom loops 16 hold up the lower end of the apron to form the carrying pocket, whereas the side loop 18 forms an end on the pocket to prevent articles from spilling out at the end.

By having the bottom of the skirt rounded, the load is evenly distributed among the intermediate loops 16. It the bottom of the apron were straight, instead of rounded, a disproportionate part of the load would be carried by the middle loop, thus imposing excessive strain on one part of the forearm.

The side of the pocket which is being touched by the right hand of the wearer in Figure 3 does not have to be supported by a loop because this end of the pocket is held up by the fact that the wearers hand is held out from her body and the distance prevents the free edge portion of the skirt from sagging.

From Figure 3 it will be apparent that the skirt 10 provides a deep and easily accessible pocket for carrying articles; and the pocket is at a convenient position for inserting and removing articles as necessary during the course of the work. Although the workers left arm is occupied in Figure 3, her hand is free to the extent that she can hold a board on which orders may be clipped while making notes on the orders with a pencil held in the other hand. The hand of the arm which passes through the loops is sufliciently free for numerous other operations which may require two hands.

In the preferred construction of the apron, the loops 16 and 18 are on the back of the skirt. This is advantion and thereby form a trough for holding articles to be carried, one of the loops being connected to the skirt portion adjacent to the bottom edge, and another of the loops being connected to the apron at a location along one side edge of the skirt portion so as to hold up a part of the skirt that forms an end for the trough.

- '2. The carrying apron described in claim 1 and in which there are side loops connected to the apron along opposite side edges of the apron for receiving the arm of a right-handed or left-handed wearer to provide an end for the trough at either the right or left side of the apron, depending upon which arm is used by the wearer to support the apron.

3. The carrying apron described in claim 1 and in which some of the loops are along the bottom edge of the skirt and others along a side edge, and the loops are strips attached to the skirt portion at their opposite ends and in positions to make the strips lie flat against the skirt portion when not in use.

4. The carrying apron described in claim 3 and in which each of the loops at the bottom edge of the skirt portion has one end connected near the edge of the skirt portion and the other end connected to the skirt portion at a substantial distance inward from the edge, and in which the side loop has both ends connected to the skirt portion near the edge thereof, and the loops are attached in position to lie against the underside of the skirt portion and the skirt portion has a reinforcing ply at its mid portion extending outwardly as far as the locations at which the bottom loops connect with the skirt portion, and a top binding at the upper end of the skirt portion to which the skirt portion is connected with gathered regions of the skirt portion permanently connected to the top binding to provide extra fullness, and ties with means connecting them to the upper part of the skirt portion at both sides of the skirt portion for extending around the back of a person wearing the apron.

5. The carrying apron described in claim 1 and in which the loops are located on the side of the apron facing the wearer when the skirt portion is hanging down and not in use for carrying, whereby the loops are protected from catching on the edges of shelving or other projecting articles against which the skirt portion may brush when passing.

6. The carrying apron described in claim 1 and in which the apron has a top binding to which the upper end of the skirt portions is permanently connected and a bib extending upwardly from the skirt portions, and shoulder straps at the upper end of the bib, the bib having darts at its lower end to give fullness to the bib and to shift the direct downward pull of the apron toward the sides of the bib.

7. An apron including a skirt that hangs down straight from a wearers waist to a bottom edge of the apron, a plurality of loops at spaced locations along the bottom edge of the skirt and extending transversely thereof, each of the loops being large enough to fit freely over one arm of the wearer of the apron when the apron skirt is to be used as a carrier, the loops being in position to receive the wearers arm when said arm is bent inwardly in front of the wearer, and the loops being close enough to the apron throughout their entire extent to hold the skirt folded upwardly into a trough when the wearers arm is carrier.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Clark Feb. 26, 1918 Quinn Apr. 26, 1938 Brose et a1. Aug. 10, 1948 FOREIGN PATENTS Germany Apr. 6, 1914 Great Britain June 11, 1925 Great Britain May 12, 1932 

